Iraq’s Visa Madness

New NIC Guidelines for Foreign Workers in Iraq

Posted on 19 April 2011. Tags: National Investment Commission, NIC, visas

The National Investment Commission in Iraq has decided new regulations to decrease the use of foreign labor in Iraq, with the intention of providing more jobs for unemployed Iraqis.

The following points were released by the NIC on Tuesday to clarify those regulations:

1. The investor shall decide in advance the rate of the work force needed in his projects then clarifying the rate of the foreign labor, then the commission shall consider the rates and decide whether to grant a license or not.
2. The foreign labor should include a technical and skilled staff that is not available locally (according to investment law No.13 of 2006 and investment system No.2 of 2010).
3. The concerned commission shall send the requests and their documents to NIC, the latter will address the ministry of labour and social affairs/ labor and technical training directorate/ employment department, and send a list of the names of the foreign workers so as to prepare the required approvals for them.
4. Visa requests should be sent to NIC so as to address the related authorities.

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Posted on 31 March 2011. Tags: Employment, jobs in Iraq, Unemployment, visas

Visa problems for foreign workers in Iraq continue to make the headlines.

Last week we reported on the difficulties caused by a decision to channel visa applications through the office of the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki; now we hear that the Basra Investment Commission has imposed its own restrictions, with the intention of reducing unemployment.

While the restrictions do not appear to be limited to specific sectors or levels of employment, the main game in town is clearly oil and gas, and in this area there are many foreign workers whose expertise is required in Iraq.

But when we say ‘many foreign workers’, that is relative – in the context of an unemployment rate between 15% and 39% (depending on whose figures you choose to believe), the number of foreign experts who need to enter Iraq is trivial. While the energy sector accounts for as much as 90% of Iraq’s GDP, it employs only about 1% of the workforce, and the number of non-Iraqi experts required would be a very small fraction of this 1%.

It’s also worth noting that native Iraqi oil workers are the cheapest in the world, so companies would be inclined to employ them first, if they have the required skills.

If Iraq is to thrive, it must allow companies to bring in the talent they need to development the country’s biggest asset.

Your business in Iraq can benefit from the knowledge and experience of both Upper Quartile and AAIB. For more information please contact Gavin Jones or Adrian Shaw.